Taiwan is a country many of us are familiar with, but many people cannot tell you the difference between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is in many ways the result of its history as a land influenced by many cultures. The complexity of the history of Taiwan has led to a very interesting political dilemma for Chinese and Taiwanese citizens.

In 1989, Chinese students and intellectuals gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest a lack of freedoms. This was in the same year as the end of many Communist governments around the world. At the time it seemed that the old order was beginning to break down and Democracy was soon to follow. Even the bloody end to that demonstration seemed to herald the beginning of the end. Yet here we are two decades later and China seems stronger than ever. What has happened?